Sensing mechanism



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. LEATHERS SENSING MECHANISM Filed July 7, 1943 Feb. 26, 1946.

% INVENTOR, WardZeai/aers.

Feb. 26, 1946. w. LEATHERS SENSING MECHANISM Filed July 7, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. LEATHERS SENSING MECHANISM Filed July 7, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

5 G MN 2 INVENTOR. h krd leathers.

Feb. 26, 1946. w. LEATHERS SENSING MECHANISM Fiied July 7, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 n WU MHHUWQH 1 me E QT A INVENTOR. l Vard Leai'iiena Feb. 26, 1946; w. LEATHERS SENSING MECHANISM Filed July 7, 1945 s Sheefs-Sheet 5 INVENTOR, i/ard leaf/7621s.

Patented Feb. 26, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE SENSING MECHANISM Application July 7, 1943, Serial No. 493,766

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to sensing mechanism for sorting machines adapted to sort perforated records of the type in which code perforations are provided in adjacent columns. Such records ordinarily represent in code form, by means of the arrangement of perforations, a plurality of different characters and it is the p rpose of a sorting machine to sort such records so as to selectively segregate the records in accordance with the character representations.

The present invention has been illustrated herein in connection with machines for sorting small record cards or tokens, as they are sometimes called, which have been severed from a continuous strip of record media, such as telegraphic tape. Additionally, the present disclosure is concerned with the sorting of such a record media bearing only numerical character representations, with the representations being produced according to a simple four-line code. Such limitations of disclosure have been resorted to purely fo convenience of illustration and simplicity, and it is to be distinctly understood that the invention may by suitable modification be designed for use in the sorting of larger standard size record cards which may be perforated according to an alphabetical as well as a numerical code.

As will be apparent presently, apparatus which is constructed according to the present invention differs materially both as regards its structural features and its principle of operation from conventional sorting machines now on the market, and principal among these differences is the use of a novel form of sensing mechanism wherein the sensing brushes or pins, as the case may be, are caused to reciprocate and by their reciprocation travel for a short period of time in the direction of movement of the cards and at the same rate of speed, with the individual sensing brushes or pins in actual sensing position and forming contact with the common sensing ba through the perforations in the selected character position in the case of a single character sensing device or in the selected field in the case of a multiple sensing device. By such an arrangement the duration of contact between the individual sensing devices and the common contact plate may materially be increased for any given rate of movement of the cards and, as a consequence, the rate of operation of the machine in its entirety may be stepped up to speeds of operation hitherto unattained with conventional present day sorting machines having stationary brushes.

The provision of an apparatus possessing the features outlined above being the principa1 object of the invention, other objects and advantages thereof will become apparent hereinafter.

In the accompanying five sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a sorting machine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. In this view certain portions of the machine framework have been broken away to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary plan view showing the sensing mechanism and card deflecting plates.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one of the card compartments together with its spring actuated card shelf.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 'l-l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail front elevational view of the sensing mechanism, certain parts being broken away to more clearly reveal the details thereof.

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 9.

Figs. 11 to 17 inclusive are detailed views of certain individual elements which cooperate when assembled to make up the sensing mechanism.

Fig. 18 is a diagrammatic view showing the electrical connections employed in connection with the sensing mechanism.

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary plan view of a group of deflecto plates employed in connection with the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is an end elevational view ture shown in Fig. 19.

Fig. 22 is a top plan view, diagrammatic in its representation, of a series of permutation bars employed in connection with the present invention.

Fig. 23 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 22.

Fig. 24. is a fragmentary plan view or a ty ical of the stru- The perforations appearing in the card are formed therein according to a simple four-line code.

Referring now to Fig. 1, wherein a side elevational view of a sorting machine embodying the present sensing mechanism is shown, the frame I is suitably mounted upon a base I! and includes more or less open frame-like side portions |4 and similar frame-like end portions l6. Disposed within the framework and suitably supported on the base I2 is a motor Mwhich drives the machine by means of a belt and pulley arrangement I8.

In handling the tabulating record cards or tokens, they are carefully stacked by the operator and then placed in the feed magazine which is designated at 20 with a weighting plate 22 resting thereupon so that when there are only a few cards remaining in the stack there will be enough weight on them to prevent them from becoming displaced from their true positions by the rapid action of the picker mechanism. The operator, by means of a crank handle I01, Figs. 1 and 10, moves the sensing assembly 26 so that it will register with the desired index column on the cards as they pass under it and he also, by means of a knob and pointer assembly 28 arranges the maat one end to the lever 44 and at the other end to a stationary bracket 62. One arm of the lever 44 is bifurcated or forked as at 64 and the bifurcations thereof serve to straddle a pin 56 carried at the underneath side of a reciprocable picker carriage 66. The carriage 56 is capable of limited to and fro movement lengthwise of the machine beneath the feed magazine 20 and, toward this end, it is slidably mounted in guideways 60 existing in a pair of side plates, one of which is shown at 62 and which are bolted in opposing relationship to the insides of the sidewalls H of the framework |II. The carriage 56 carries on its upper surface a picker supporting bracket 64 to which there is bolted or otherwise secured as at 66 the picker pr'oper 68. The vertical extent of the picker 66 may be adjusted by loosening the fastening means 66 therefor.

The picker cam is so contoured and the bell crank lever 44 is so designed according to engineering exigencies that. the rearward limit of travel of the picker 68 will bring this member barely'clear of the rear edge of the lowermost card in the stack contained within the feed magazine 20. The cam 40 is designed for rapid acceleration during its forward stroke commencing from a stationary position. Because of the fact that no clearance between the picker 63 and the rear edge of the card is tolerated in the initial starting position of the picker, the rapid acceleration provided for will not cause damage to the cards and the cards will leave the picker at a very high rate of speed, which rate of movement will be continued by virtue of the driving feed rollers 2|. The openings at the bottom of the feed magazine 20 are adjusted so that only one chine to give the kind of sort he desires. He then sets the motor into operation by means of any suitable electrical control not shown. The picker 30 commences to reciprocate and feeds the cards one by one from the bottom of the stack to the sensing device or analyzer from whence passage of each card is directed to one of eleven receiv-- ing stations, labeled consecutively R, I, 2', 3', 4, 5', 6', I, 8', 9', l0. Passage of the cards from the feed magazine 20 through the analyzer and across I the machine to its respective bins is accomplished by means of succeeding pairs of conveyor rolls 2| as will be set forth presently.

Each receiving station consists of a compartment or bin 3| formed by vertical walls 32 in which there is disposed an inclined tray 34 carried at its side edges by means of weighted straps 36 that pass over rollers 38, the weighting of the straps 36 being such that the cards will gradually sink into the bin as the load of cards increases, thus always maintaining the top of the stack at or near the top of the bin so that newly arrived cards will have but a slight distance to fall and consequentlywill have no opportunity to turn over or otherwise become disarranged.

The feed mechanism for removing the cards I one at a time from the bottom of the stack provided in the feed compartment 20 is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, and comprises a rotary picker cam 40 carried on a horizontal shaft 42 that extends transversely of the machine and which is driven by the pulley arrangement l8. A bell crank lever 44 supported on a rock shaft 46; also extending transversely of the machine, is provided with a follower 48 which is normally maintained in engagement with the surface of the cam 40 by means of a coil spring 50 anchored card may pass at a time. Each card is impelled by the picker blade until. it is seized by the first pair of feed rolls 2| in the series. In passing from the feed magazine 20 through the sensing device 26 to the several receiving stations, the cards are drawn along between successive pairs of upper and lower feed rolls 2| which are so spaced apart that each pair of rolls receives the individual cards before they have passed completely from the preceding pair. The feed rolls 2| are carried upon a series of upper and lower horizontal shafts 23 and 25 respectively. The rear ends of each of the shafts 23 and 25 have mounted thereon meshing spiral gears 69 and 69 respectively, the latter gears meshing with a series of driving gears 33 which are mounted upon a shaft 35 that extendslongitudinally of the machine (see Figs. 1 and 5). The shaft 35 also carries a gear 31 which is adapted to be driven from a gear train, which is designated in its entirety at 39, and which in turn derives its motion from the belt and pulley arrangement I8.

The sorting or distributing system is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and comprises means for selectively guiding the .cards leaving the sensing device 26 into the different sortin bins. This means includes a series of adjustable sorting plates 12 (Fig. 19) having staggered or offset ends 14, there being provided one sorting blade for each of the sorting bins and the rear end of each blade terminating at the respective sorting bin and being attached to the rear wall of the latter as at 16 (Fig. 3) so as to cause the card to be sorted and guided into the related sorting bin. The leading staggered edges 14 of the various sorting blades 12 terminate in a common transverse vertical plane, as shown in Figs. 8 and 19, and the forward exposed underneath portion of each blade rests upon a, lifting roller 16 carried upon a relatively thin vertically disposed lifting plate 90, there being an individual roller and plate for each blade and all of the plates being pivotally mounted upon a horizontal supporting shaft 82 positioned adjacent the. path of movement of the cards between the impelling traction feed rollers 2|. The

plates 89 are each provided with downwardly projecting extensions 94, all of which are disposed in transverse alignment and each of which is normally biased, as shown in Fig. 8, in a forward direction by means of coil spring 85 suitably anchored to a bracket mounted on a shelf 90 disposed within the machine framework. The plates 90 are normally maintained in their lowermost position f tilting by means of a series of notched permutation bars 92 which are arranged in close-proximity to each other in stacked relationship, as shown in Figs. 8, 22 and 23. The rear edgesof each of the permutation bars 92 are provided with aseries of decoding notches 94 and transversely of the machine under the influence of a corresponding number of decoding magnets 96 (see Figs. 8 and 18). The magnets 98 are disposed in respective electrical circuits adapted to be selectively energized under the control of the sensing device 25. Inasmuch as the code which has been selected for the purpose of illustration is a four-line code, only four sensing brushes are required and, as a consequence, only four magnets 96 are required to produce selective movement of the plates 80, bymeans of which the sorting blades 12 are actuated to direct the cards to one of the sorting bins 3|. -'In the event that no perforations appear at the particular column undergoing sensing none of the sorting magnets 95 will become energized and the permutation bars 92 will remain in their normal position, thus causing all of the'plates 8|] to remain intheir lowermost position of tilting, whereupon the card being fed by the rollers 2| will pass along the upper surface of the uppermost sortin blade i2 andbe conducted to the last bin in the series. This bin is commonly known as the reject pocket and has been labeled R accordingly.

In the event that one or more of the sorting magnets 96 becomes energized under the influ- .ence of the sensing device 25, the permutation bars 92 will be shifted in such a manner that,

depending upon alignment of the notches 94 according to the selected code, one of the plates 8|] will become tilted in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 20, to elevate the lifting roller I! and raise the particular sorting blade 12, with which it is in contact, slightly so that the leading edge of the card being fed may pass therebeneath and be guided by this particular blade to the related sorting bin. In general, the position of the leading edge of the card with relation to the ends of the sorting blades 12 immediately after energization of one or more of the sorting magnets 96 will determine into which sorting bin that particular card will be guided. For carrying out proper operation of the sorting magnets 96, these magnets must be energized by receiving electrical impulses effected at different times in accordance with the digits which are perforated in code form in the cards and which control the various sorting Operations. Referring now to Figs. '7 and 8, a horizontal shaft 9| extends across the framework of the machine and carries thereon a pair of guide discs 93 which project downwardly a slight distance beyond the edges of the various stacked sorting blades 12 to prevent lateral shifting movement of these blades. The shaft 9| and discs 93 are stationary.

A plurality of cam members 91 are mounted upon a, shaft 99 which may be one of the shafts carrying two of the rolls 2|. These cams 91 are designed for cooperation with respectivelifting plates 80 for the purpose of restoring them to their normal positions after they have been elevated.

Means are provided whereby out of a stack of promiscuously arranged cards in the feed magazine 20 the various cards may be conducted to any or all of the sorting bins 3| wherein they belong. However, in an instance where, for example, the ope'rator desires to segregate from the stack cards of a common variety, means are provided whereby all but one of the various lifting plates 80 may be locked in a selected predetermined position so as to allow only one plate freedom of movement. With the remaining plates locked in their retracted clockwise position of tilting, whenever, in the sensing device 26, a card is encountered that belongs to the selected variety, the permutation bars 92 will move to such relative positions as to allow the single free lifting plate 80 to become tilted, thus elevating its corresponding sorting plate 12 and causing the card to pass beneath this latter plate to the corresponding bin.

The locking means just referred to comprises a horizontal shaft I00 which extends transversely beneath the group of lifting plates 89. Mounted upon and rotatable with the shaft 00 are a series of cam members I02 each having a fiat surface M which, when the cam is positioned with this surface extending parallel to the forward edge of its respective member 80, allows this member freedom of movement. The shaft I00 projects outwardly beyond one side [4 of the framework l0 and carries at its projecting end the knob and pointer mechanism 28 previously referred to. By turning the knob and pointer mechanism according to a selected indication. the various cam members I04 may be so turned as to lock all of the lifting plates 80, except the one which it is desired to have freedom of movement, in their inoperative positions. While there are eleven sorting bins, including the reject bin, there are but ten sorting plates 12 and ten lifting plates 80 and ten locking cams I02, inasmuch as the, reject bin is always open for reception of any card which has not been entrapped by one of the sorting plates 12 for conduction to one of the preceding bins in the series.

The sensing device 26 is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but is illustrated in detail in Figs. 9 to 15 inclusive, while its application in the machine is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 18. This sensing mechanism involves in its general organization a bedplate 5| having a shallow transverse recess or channe1 53 formed therein. An insulating pad 55 completely fills the recess 53 and serves to support thereon a common contact plate 51 which forms a common return line for the various sorting magnets 96, and which is adapted to be selectively engaged by one or more of a series of sensing brushes 59, which latter brushes are adapted to project through the perforations formed in the cards undergoing sensing when the latter are in position on the plate 5'1.

The sensing brushes 59 are in the form of wire bundles, Fig. 11, the upper ends of which are grouped together and supported in an insulating block 6| which is adjustably supportd by means of clamp screws 53 in an inverted U-shaped frame 95 having side walls 61 which extend downwardly in parallelism. The frame 65 is formed with a pair of downwardly extending lugs 1| at opposite ends thereof and with an additional pair of lugs 13, each of which is positioned a slight distance inwardly from the ends of the frame 65. The lugs 1| serve as vertical lifting followers for the frame 65, while the lugs 13 serve as horizontal impelling followers for the frame. The followers II and 13 are designed to be operated upon by a plurality of rotatable cam members 15 which are integralin construction and arranged in groups of three and are positioned upon and designed for rotation with a pair of respective shafts 11 (see Figs. 2, 3 and S). A pair of rollers IOI, designed for rotation by a pair of shafts 11' and located directly below the shafts 11, are rotatably supported in the side frames I4 and I4 and are adapted to drive the card while passing through the senser. The shafts 11 and 11' project outwardly beyond the back side walls I4 of the framework I0. The shafts 11 are provided with feed rollers 2 I and carry at their rear ends gears 69, while the shafts 11' have mounted thereon gears 69' (Fig. 4), the latter gears meshing with gears 33, which in turn are driven from the gear train 39 as shown in Fig. 1.

The groups of rotary cams 15 each consists of three camdiscs arranged in close proximity to one another on the shafts 11 and slidably keyed thereto in order that the sensing unit as a whole may be shifted transversely of the machine on the shafts 11 in order that the sensing brushes 59 may be brought into register with a selected column in the card to be sensed. The U-shaped frame 65 is positioned between the side walls 83 of a generally triangular U-shaped outer frame member 85. The side walls'of the member 85 are bridged by a relatively short thrust pin 49 which is positioned directly above the U-shaped frame 65. A leaf spring 41 bears upwardly in its medial regions against the pin 49 and its outer ends push downwardly on the top of the framework 65, thus normally serving to urge the movable portions of the brush carriage downwardly. The ends of the spring 41 are bowed slightly so as to offer a minimum amount of frictional resistance to the horizontal component of movement of the carriage. The frame member 85 is provided with apertures 81 in the side walls thereof through which the shafts 11 extend. As shown in Figs. 3 and 14, the upper end of the U-shaped member 95 is formed with a block portion 9| to which there is secured a pointer 93 which overlies a horizontal transverse bar 95 that extends across the framework of the machine in the upper regions thereof. The bar 95 is formed with a suitable graduated scale or the like by means of which the location and identity of the various index columns provided in the cards undergoing sensing may be determined. The underneath side of the bar 95 is formed with a plurality of small transversely spaced indentations 91 designed for cooperation with a spring pressed follower 99, thus making it possible to place the carriage of the sensing device 25 in an exact location for each selected column of the cards.

The block portion 9| formed at the upper end of the U-shaped member 85 is provided with a threaded bore I03 in which there is received and through which there extends a threaded adjusting bar I05 (see Fig. 2). The adjusting bar I 05 projects outwardly beyond one side I4 of the framework I and is provided with an operating handle I01, by means of which the bar I05 may mounted upon a stud 81 and are driven by a gear sensing. The two groups of cam members 15 are substantially identical both as regards their construction and their orientation on their respective shafts 11. The two outer discs 15 of each group are designed for cooperation with the lifting followers'1I in raising the oscillatable brush carrying frame 65, while the inner cam 19 of each group is designed for cooperation with the follower 13 in imparting to and fro movement to the frame 65 in a horizontal direction. The inner. and outer cams 15' are so oriented with respect to each other that upon rotation of the shafts 11 in unison in the same direction the movable carriage formed by the insulating block GI and frame 55 will be moved in a horizontal direction over the surface of the bedplate 5| at the same rate of speed as the card traveling along this bed plate therebeneath. Exact registry of the brushes with the perforations provided in the column undergoing sensing is attained by virtue of the design of the cam members 15', which in addition to serving their impelling function on the oscillatable carriage also serve in cooperation with the series of rollers IOI therebeneath as feed rolls for the cards. A pair of rollers 8| are rotatably supported on the inner side of each of the frames I4, I4 and are adaptedto move the cards under the sensing device. The upper rollers 8| are train 24 (see Fig. 1) which operates under the influence of the shaft 11. The lower rollers 8I are carried by a shaft 25 which is driven by a gear 33, shaft 35 and gears 31 and 39. During that period of time while the frame 65 is moving in .a horizontal direction rearwardly, the brushes will remain in register with such perforations as they may encounter in the column undergoing sensing and, as a consequence, .such brushes as do register with the sensed perforations will make electrical contact with the insulated contact plate 51. A period of time during which electrical contact is established between the brushes 59 and plate 51 is of relatively long duration due to their common period of travel. As the oscillatable frame 55 approaches the limit of its rearward stroke, the two outer cam discs 15' of the two groups of cams will cooperate with the lifting follower 1I, thus raising the sensing carriage and brushes 59 out of contact with the plate 51 and with the card, thus freeing the latter in order that the same may pass into the distributing mechanism previously described. The carriage is then in its elevated position and is again moved forwardly and is subsequently lowered for registry and engagement with the next succeeding card in the series of cards undergoing sensing. Rotation of the groups of cams 15 may be relatively rapid in order that a high speed of oscillation will be imparted to the sensing carriage. Despite the relatively high speed of oscillation that may be obtained by the sensing carriage, the duration of contact between the sensing brushes and the contact plate 51 through the perforations in the card C will be relatively long considering the fact that the cards and sensing carriage are moving in the same direction and at the same rate of speed.

Referring now to Fig. 18 wherein the electrical connections for the four sorting magnets and for the sensing device 25 are diagrammatically shown, each of the sensing brushes 59 is electrically connected to one terminal of the winding of a respective electromagnet. For convenience of illustration, the four sensing brushes, each of which is adapted to sense a particular index point position in a column, have been labeled la, 2a, 3a and 4a and their respective magnets have been similarly labeled. The other terminal of the winding of each magnet 96 is electrically connected to one side of the battery B or other source oi current supply. The battery is also connected to the common sensing plate 51 carried in the insulating pad 55 contained in the recess 53 of the bed plate 5|. Each of the electromagnets 96 is provided with an armature I06 which is connected by a link 18 to one endof a bell crank lever II, the other end of the lever bein connected to one of the permutation bars 92. In Fig. 18 the permutation bars 92 are, for convenience of illustration, shown as being arranged in alignment but it will, of course, be understood that these permutation bars are actually arranged in side by side relationship as previously set forth and as shown in Figs. 8 and 23.

Because of the fact that during the actual sensing operation as performed by the four brushes 59, the brushes do not move relative to the card,

.vention has been particularly pointed out in the such brush or brushes as may have occasion-to engage the common contact plate 51 will remain}; in contact with this plate for a relatively long period of time as compared to conventional sens-,

ing devices wherein the cards move rapidly past" the brushes. portance in connection with the present invention and by virtue thereof the magnets 96 correspending to those brushes which become oper- This feature is of paramount imative will remain energized for a correspondingly longer period of time. Upon energiz-ation of one or more of the magnets 96, shifting of their respective permutation bars 92 will take place, and because of the fact that the magnets do remain energized for a relatively long period of time the permutation bars 92 will assume their adjusted positions and remain in these positions for an ample period of time to allow the lifting plates 80 to register and fall into the slots 94 formed in the adjacent edges of the permutation bar and assume definite fixed positions therein, When this occurs, the lifting rollers 18 associated with the lifting plates 80 bear upwardly against the underneath surface of their respective deflecting plates 12 and cause an entrance to be created between two adjacent plates for the cards passing from the sensing device 26. Were it not for the fact that the sensing carriage, including the brushes 59, insulating block 6| and frame 65, move in unison with the cards undergoing sensing during a fraction of each cycle of oscillation thereof the magnets 98 would not, under high speed conditions of operation, become fully energized or at least they would not remain energized a sufllcient length of time to permit the lifting plates 80 to fall into their positions of registry within the aligned slots in the permutation bars 92. Thus it will be seen that by such an arrangement the speed of operation of the machine, and consequently the rate at which cards ma be passed therethrough, is materially increased.

In the form of the invention illustrated, the sensing brushes are caused to travel with the cards and effect an electrical connection for the sorting magnets while they are moving throughout a distance equal substantially to one and one-half times the length of a card perforation. In conventional sorting machines in which the sensing brushes or pins are stationary and the cards are pulled past the stationary brushes, a relatively small period of time elapses during which a brush is allowed to enter one of the perforations in the card. Thus, the rate of feed of the cards is limited by the length of time which it takes to completely energize the sorting magnet. In the present instance, however, the length of time that the sensing brushes or pins make their electrical contact is many times greater than in the case of stationary sensing brushes and, therefore, the limit of speed of the machine is based not upon any consideration of duration of electrical contact but upon the mechanical ability of the machine elements to withstand rapid movement. I

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as the inaccompanying claims is the same to be limited.

What is claimed is: j l. A record controlled machine including analyzing means for successively analyzing columnar index points in perforated records whilethe latter are in motion, an analyzing statio'nymeans for successively moving the records past said station in a columnar direction at a predetermined rate of speed, said analyzing means comprising a stationary frame positioned at said analyzing station, a carriage mounted in said frame for vertical movement and for horizontal movement in the direction of travel of the records, a

plurality of sensing elements mounted on saiding a horizontal component of movement to the carriage and means for concurrently operating each of said cam means so as to cause the carriage to move in a closed path whereby the sens- Y ing elements will move into sensing engagement with successive records moving past said analyzing station and travel with said records a prede termined distance while maintaining such sensing engagement.

2. A record controlled machine including analyzing means for successively analyzing columnar index points in perforated records while the latter are in motion, an analyzing station, means for successively moving the records past said station in a columnar direction at a predetermined rate of speed, said analyzing means comprising a stationary frame positioned at the analyzing station, a carriage mounted in said frame and having both horizontal and vertical components of movement therein, a plurality of sensing brushes mounted on said carriage, a pair of rotary cams having cam surfaces thereon bearing against said carriage and adapted upon rotation of the cams to move the carriage horizontally during which movement said brushes are adapted to. sense the perforations in the records, an additional pair of rotary cams having cam surfaces bearing upon said carriage and adapted upon rotation thereof to move said carriage vertically to withdraw said brushes from sensing engagement with the records, and means for rotating said cams in unison.

3. A record controlled machine including analyzing means for successively analyzing columnar index points in perforated records while the records are in motion, an analyzing station, means for successively moving the records past said station in a columnar direction at a predetermined rate of speed, said analyzing means comprising a stationary frame positioned at said analyzing station, a. carriage mounted in said frame for vertical movement and for horizontal movement in the direction of travel of the records, a plurality of sensing elements mounted on said car riage and movable therewith, said carriage being provided with a pair of vertically disposed cam engaging surfaces and with a pair of horizontally disposed cam engaging surfaces, a pair of complementary rotary cams each of which is designed for engagement with one of said vertically disthereof to impart a horizontal component oi movement to said carriage, a second pair of rotary cam members each of which is designed for cooperation with said horizontally disposed cam posed cam surfaces and operable upon rotation 15 

